“We seemed like we had lost our way,” he asserted, reflecting on the divisiveness stirred up by the second war in Iraq, the Abu Ghraib scandal and the bitterly partisan Bush-Kerry presidential contest.

He decided to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the state of the union dating from 1776 until today.

Rolling across the country in the band’s tour bus provided ample time (sometimes up to 10 hours of downtime per day, he calculated) to devour wonkish tomes about America then, now and even future.

That is, until his 22-month-old daughter got diagnosed with cancer. (Crawford penned an op-ed about pediatric cancer research last fall.)

“I didn’t care about history for a while,” he said of the obvious shift in priorities.

Once his little girl recovered (she’s doing better but continues getting checkups), Crawford reconnected with Sawyer and lobbied hard for following through on their burning desire to make complicated issues relatable.

A self-proclaimed devotee of National Public Radio’s Terry Gross , Sawyer said his goal for the show is to talk to as many genuinely interesting people as possible.

Sawyer’s favorite podcasts
• Freakonomics (“That was a huge influence for me,” Sawyer said of the mind-bending show.)
• Nerdist
• Planet Money
• WTF with Marc Maron The short list of prospective guests includes politicians, entertainers and academics — or, as Crawford put it, “anybody that can help us draw those all-important lines from the past to the present.”

In their debut outing, Crawford and Sawyer try to wrap their minds around “new populism.”

Crawford attributes the breakout performances by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders to the meteoric rise of social media and plummeting faith in traditional institutions such as political parties, the church and financial providers.

Crawford and Sawyer roped in a few ringers for other episodes. They huddle with former House Republican leadership aide Doug Heye during episode two and talk shop with Bloomberg Politics players Matthew Negrin and Alex Trowbridge in episode three.

“We’re having so much fun,” Crawford said. “It reminds me of being a young musician and starting a new band.”

Crawford fantasizes about turning on inquisitive types from all walks of life.

“I want to find ways to explain the Kansas-Nebraska Act to a 22-year-old who probably doesn’t find it all that exciting,” he said, referring to the slavery-expanding law that was the impetus for the modern Republican Party.